1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle front structures in which an apron lower member is disposed so as to bridge between an apron upper member and a front side member, and more particularly to a technique of reducing collision impact or reducing injury values upon collision.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle front structures are proposed which include (a) a front side member disposed in a side part of a vehicle so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, (b) an apron upper member disposed above the front side member, and (c) an apron lower member disposed so as to bridge between the apron upper member and the front end of the front side member. The structure described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-171032 (JP 2009-171032 A) is an example of such a vehicle front structure, and the apron lower member is formed of a round pipe material.
In the conventional vehicle front structures, part of an impact load applied to the front side member upon collision is merely transmitted and dispersed from the apron lower member to the apron upper member, and reduction in collision impact or reduction in occupants' injury values upon collision cannot be sufficiently achieved, leaving room for improvement.
As used herein, the term “injury value” is a term defined by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) etc., and is a value for quantitative evaluation of the level of injury to an occupant.